The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor element.
A light emitting element can be obtained, for example, by dividing a semiconductor wafer having a substrate having an upper surface, a semiconductor portion including an n-side nitride semiconductor layer and p-side nitride semiconductor layer in order from the upper surface of the substrate. A known method of dividing a semiconductor wafer includes irradiating laser light into the substrate to form a modified region in the substrate and dividing the wafer. In some cases, regions of the semiconductor wafer including intended separation lines may be removed by etching from an upper surface side of the wafer to expose the n-side nitride semiconductor layer, and a protective layer may be disposed on the exposed surfaces. This arrangement can reduce attaching of dust, which is produced when dividing the semiconductor wafer, onto the surfaces exposed by the etching, and thus occurrence of leakage current due to dust can be reduced (see for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-166728).